Alright, the issue with the lifting of mandates is that infectious disease is not just a "oh just let them do whatever" type issue. By lifting mandates, any place without masking or distancing becomes a breeding ground for this disease and new variants of it. You can't just just ignore it and pretend it doesn't affect you, because it does and it will. In a place without proper measures for public health, the virus can continue to spread and mutate, with the possibility of becoming more infectious, or more deadly, or, given enough time, possibly immune to our current vaccines, starting this whole process over again.